No room to isolate coronavirus patients at Tembisa Hospital
'I don’t think the Gauteng Health Department can seriously justify the choice of Tembisa Hospital,' Bloom
Tembisa Hospital is not suited for the treatment of any coronavirus patients.
Says Jack Bloom, MPL and DA Gauteng shadow MEC for health: “Tembisa Hospital has been identified as one of three hospitals in Gauteng that will treat coronavirus cases, but this hospital is severely overcrowded and is only just recovering from antibiotic-resistant klebsiella infections that caused the deaths of ten babies.
“Unlike the other two identified hospitals, Charlotte Maxeke and Steve Biko, there is simply no space at Tembisa Hospital to isolate any coronavirus patients.
“I recently saw for myself in the neonatal wards how the ‘isolation’ of klebsiella-infected babies was simply a curtained-off section rather than a separate room.
“It cannot be that Tembisa Hospital was chosen simply because it is near OR International Tambo Airport where coronavirus-infected patients could enter the country.
“I don’t think the Gauteng Health Department can seriously justify the choice of Tembisa Hospital as a potential treatment centre for coronavirus cases. The department needs to work with the private health sector to ensure we really are geared up to isolate and treat any coronavirus cases in Gauteng,” said Bloom.
Also read:
- Tembisa Hospital put on alert to treat possible coronavirus cases
- Baby deaths: 90 babies crammed into 44-bed neonatal unit at Tembisa Hospital
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